July 24, 2026 [LINK / comment]
The Nats win another road series
After splitting the first two games of the series against the Rockies in Denver, the Washington Nationals fired on all cylinders for the game on Wednesday afternoon. Cade Cavalli pitched 6 shutout innings, during which the Nats scored exactly once on a timely 2-out sac fly by James Wood. That would have been enough, as the bullpen held up this time. Eddy Yean, who was called up from the Rochester Red Wings on Tuesday, pitched two innings, and Max Kranick, who had a rough outing in Sacramento on July 18, closed the game. Nasim Nuñez sparked a rally in the 7th inning with a 2-run single (helped by a fielding error), then Luis Garcia homered (#21!), and the visitors put 6 runs on the board, with one more in the 8th inning. Final score: Nats 8, Rockies 0.
Tonight the Nats begin a 3-game home series against the Arizona Diamondbacks, with the often-shaky Zack Littell expected to pitch after Carson Palmquist "opens" with an inning or two. The D-backs currently rank third in the National League wild card race, behind the Chicago Cubs and the Philadelphia Phillies. If the Nationals are going to make it to the postseason, they will need to overcome the D-backs as well as the Pittsburgh Pirates, St. Louis Cardinals, and Miami Marlins. It's a tall order, but it is an eminently attainable objective -- as long as the front office manages to acquire a good pitcher or two in the next ten days or so. In the 6th inning, the score is tied, 2-2.
How about those Red Sox?!
This is the time of year when trends often shift, either due to injury or morale factors, and the postseason picture starts to come into focus. For the Boston red-hot Red Sox, the first half of 2026 was a miserable frustration, and most people counted them out. But in early July, they started to click, winning nine straight games before the All-Star break, and then six more games afterward. Their opponents during this streak included two strong teams (Chicago White Sox and Tampa Bay Rays), two weak team teams (L.A. Angels and N.Y. Mets), plus the Baltimore Orioles. It was the Orioles who finally beat them 5-1 in the second game of a double-header on Wednesday. The Red Sox tied their franchise record of 15 consecutive wins, which they last accomplished in 1946 -- back in Ted Williams' day. Well, you can't win 'em all!
So who was the last team to beat the Red Sox before this year's big winning streak started? The Washington Nationals, of course! That was on July 1, the end of a 3-game series in Fenway Park in which the Nats prevailed in two games out of three.
More stadium page updates, eh?
Four more stadium pages have been updated to conform to the new standard, with city composite photos and (where available) stadium composite photos. And all four of them were in Canada! It happens that I have begun scanning old slides (inherited family archives, etc.), and I managed to get slightly-improved images of some stadiums that I saw for the first time during a cross-country journey in 1987. One of those was in Montreal!
Olympic Stadium in July 1987, as work on the retractable roof was being completed, which is why the crane was there. The guy in front, José Benitez, was kind enough to show me around the city.
Likewise, I found some slide photos of the city that allowed me to create a composite photo of Montreal as well. Both this image and the above stadium photo (including a large version) are now shown on the Olympic Stadium page. Please note that my scanning endeavors are part of an ongoing project, and I may end up posting improved versions of these photos in the near future.
TOP: Downtown Montreal skyline (to the east) on a misty, rainy day, seen from Mount Royal Park. In the distance is the St. Lawrence River. BOTTOM LEFT: A distant view of Olympic Stadium (to the northeast) and residential neighborhoods from that same elevated location. BOTTOM RIGHT: Place Jacques Cartier in Old Montreal; on the right is Hotel Nelson.